External environment
Understand the influences of the external environment in the business studies curriculum, see real life examples within our case studies with downloads
Business Cycle
Decision making across the business cycle
CIMA, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, is the world’s leading body for management accountants. Management accountants...
Managing firms throughout the business cycle
The first decade of the 21st century has been a rollercoaster ride for economic activity. Business confidence...
Providing support through the stages of the business cycle
Everybody faces a degree of uncertainty within his or her daily lives. No matter how well people...
Planning and the business cycle
Land Securities is the UK's leading property company. It is quoted on the London Stock Exchange and...
Business Environment
A revolution in banking
There are a number of ways of developing new business opportunities and one of the most important...
Business activities and care for the environment
Aggregate minerals are an important resource and their use is essential to national prosperity. They are vital...
Competing in a highly regulated environment
Most UK citizens are familiar with the National Lottery and its potential for making millionaires of people...
Balancing a fine line in an environment of change
Many of the goods we use in our everyday lives are based on “threads.” For example, the...
Consumer Protection
Championing competition
An Office of Fair Trading case study
We live in an economic system that is generally good at...
Meeting and exceeding consumer protection laws to drive competitive...
DSGi is the leading European specialist retailer of consumer electronics. In the UK the Group includes the...
Corporate Responsibility
Corporate citizenship and the community
Today, more than ever, we have come to appreciate and value the relationships that can be forged...
Beyond corporate social responsibility
Primark is a subsidiary company of the ABF (Associated British Foods) Group. The company was launched in...
Nutrition, Health & Wellness – New Product Development at...
Businesses operate in markets that are constantly changing. Consumer tastes and expectations are always on the move....
Socially responsible investment
In the business world, ‘investment’ has two separate but related meanings. For many producers, ‘investment’ means spending...
Economy
The knowledge-driven economy
This case study focuses upon the findings of the Department of Trade and Industry which illustrate how...
Using technology to improve economies
Vodafone is a leading international mobile communications company with interests in 27 countries and partnership agreements with...
Steering the economy
In providing an overview of the workings of the economy, this case study focuses on the key...
Ethics
Business ethics and sustainability in the steel industry
Steel is a unique and vital material. It touches almost every part of modern life. It is...
Providing consumers with ethically sourced garments
Rapid changes in media, transport and communications technology have made the world economy more interconnected now than...
Business ethics and corporate social responsibility
Anglo American is one of the world”s leading mining companies. It is a UK public limited company...
Business principles in action nutritional labelling
Consumers have higher expectations than ever before. They want products to match these expectations. They also want...
External Influences
Use of PEST analysis at UNISON
UNISON is Britain and Europe's biggest public sector trade union, representing more than 1.3 million members working...
Managing external influences
We all make use of the services provided by transportation companies. For example, you will probably have...
Competitive advantage through sustainable product development in construction
Understanding the external environment
Corus examined its construction strategy in light of the external environment, to identify future...
Responding to a changing marketing environment
Lubricating oil is the vital component of every internal combustion engine. From a small passenger vehicle to...
Globalisation
Meeting global and local needs
Siemens AG is a global electrical and electronics business with a turnover of £53 billion. The business...
Government Influence
Integration in the public sector HM Revenue and Customs
To integrate or merge means to join together. There are often advantages for two organisations to merge...
Matching taxation principles with environmental policies
With the discovery of a previously unknown planet, one of the first things we would want to...
Regulating a utility
We all rely upon having access to water throughout each day every day of our lives. Think...
Welfare to work
After the Second World War, the British welfare state was further strengthened. The welfare programme offered citizens...
International Business
Supporting international trade
One of the biggest challenges for business organisations in the UK is learning how and where to...
Partners in international trade
This case study focuses on the HSBC Group, which, as one of the largest banking and financial...
External Environment
De-regulation
These state monopolies reduced consumer choice. For example, only one producer supplied gas, and only one producer...
Working for free trade
Businesses and consumers in the UK are buying and selling goods and services in ever more diverse...
Introducing an established brand – bringing Yellow Bus to...
Most people in the UK will have seen yellow school buses in American films. The Yellow Bus...
The knowledge-driven economy
This case study focuses upon the findings of the Department of Trade and Industry which illustrate how...
Corporate citizenship and the community
Today, more than ever, we have come to appreciate and value the relationships that can be forged...
Championing competition
An Office of Fair Trading case study
We live in an economic system that is generally good at...
Planning and the business cycle
Land Securities is the UK's leading property company. It is quoted on the London Stock Exchange and...
Nutrition, Health & Wellness – New Product Development at...
Businesses operate in markets that are constantly changing. Consumer tastes and expectations are always on the move....
